Last Sunday my friend Catherine and I (yes, we both have the same name), went to try out the Kensington Hotel Fashion Forward Afternoon Tea, which has been created in celebration of the Alexander McQueen Savage Beauty Exhibition at the V&A, which is just around the corner. The afternoon tea included the standard afternoon tea fare, as well as cakes and pastries inspired by McQueen’s iconic designs. I’ve been to the Kensington Hotel a couple of times before, and I just adore the contemporary boutique decor and luxury aspects.
After a bit of a slow start, our tea arrived; I opted for the Hibiscus which was delicious, while the other Catherine went for the English Breakfast.
Then the tea stand appeared on our table, and our eyes grew wide at the huge amount of food in front of us. We had four sandwiches each, two scones (one plan and one fruit), three canape style treats, and then five cakes and pastries each. e a c h.
We decided it would be best if we just went for it, so we both decided to try and finish the whole lot. So we started with the sandwiches. They contained the traditional fail-safe fillings; chicken, salmon, egg, and cream cheese & cucumber. All of them were really very yummy,
Then it was time for the trio of delicious canape treats; Dorset crab and artichoke cocktail, foie gras cornet with mango, and quail eggs adorned with edible gold (paying homage to the Bird’s nest headdress made with Swarovski Gemstones for Alexander McQueen Autumn/Winter 2006). This was where we had the biggest first world problem I think we’ve ever had “Oh…your lips are covered in gold…does that mean mine are too!?” “Yes, yours are as well!” “Ugh!”. I mean it’s not a bad thing to have your lips covered in edible gold, just a small inconvenience as it makes you look a bit silly.
Anyway, after our canape treats we decided to have a short break and sip on our rose champagne while chatting about the latest goings on. Our conversations usually always revolve around men (why is finding a decent man in London so bloody hard!?) and clubland and what events we have coming up. Naturally there is almost always a bit of bitching too (yes, we are horrible people – maybe that’s why we can’t find decent men). I feel so sorry for the people who were sat next to us.
After our champagne break (which lasted all of 2 minutes), we started on the scones. I decided to forgo the plain scone and just have the fruit one, and save myself for the cakes and pastries. I was already feeling quite full, and I’m not much of a scone person anyway. The fruit scone I did have however, was perfect.
Finally we got to my favourite part – the cakes and pastries! I loved all of them, especially the red velvet and rose water cake/muffin presented in the style of the Butterfly Hat by Philip Treacy (as seen at McQueen’s Spring/Summer collection in 2008), and the buttermilk pannacotta with raspberry! Ugh, I could eat them all over again. But I musn’t, for I will get fatter. And I have numerous bikinis to get into in September (more about this soon!).
We had such a lovely afternoon at the Kensington Hotel! It’s such a calming place, and I love how it feels very understated and boutiquey, rather than screaming ‘huge hotel full of tourists’.
It would be the perfect place for an afternoon tea with a group of girl friends. The Kensington Hotel Forward Afternoon Tea is available for £35pp, and is running until 2nd August 2015. Although the service was patchy and quite slow at times, the food surpassed itself, especially the cakes!
What’s your favourite place for afternoon tea?
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*Our afternoon tea was complimentary, but as always my views are completely my own.
Catherine Lux is a veteran travel blogger by night and the Head of Content Marketing at Amazon by day. Originally from Surrey, she spent four years living in Australia (2007-2009, and 2016-2018), and now lives in London. An ex-party girl sometimes prone to relapses, she loves nothing more than sharing her fine dining and luxury travel experiences with her loyal readers.
WHY did I read this before breakfast? I'm now craving an afternoon tea at 10am! This looks incredible – it looks like such a great tea time treat!
Lauren xx
The Lifestyle Diaries
Ahh sorry haha! It was such a fab way to spend a Sunday!
C x
HAHAHA – I think the lips covered in gold thing is the best first world problem I've ever heard! I love the prettiness and attention to detail of every item here, they almost look too good to eat!
Polly xx
Follow Your Sunshine
I know!!! Ha! I know, everything was just stunning!
C x
Oh. My. Goodness. This post has the YES factor written all over it. 1. Your writing is hilarious! Indeed, why is it so bloody hard to find a decent bloke in London??! 2. The photos you took are gorgeous, what camera do you use? And 3. Now I want to go!
Thanks for sharing this lovely post! Honest and funny!
http://blessedbymeow.blogspot.co.uk
x
Haha! Aw thank you Kirsty! And I know right!! Also I use a Nikon D5200 🙂
C x
Oooo it all looks so deliciously edible!! I love that they include savoury canapés as well as sandwiches. I don't know how you forewent your scone though – I could eat a plate of those babies! Glad it was so tasty 🙂 Lots of love, Andrea xxx
http://www.andreaspassions.com
It was gorgeous! Same, it was really nice to have something a little different rather than just sandwiches 🙂
C x
This looks so gorgeous, I love the way the pastries are so beautiful and intricate! The were really generous with the offering too, no one likes a stingy tea 😉
Lots of love,
Angie
SilverSpoon London
Yes, we were so full afterwards it was unreal! Stingy teas certainly suck 😉
C x
I had a wonderful time here too, came for lunch the same weekend and will be writing about that soon. Would have loved to see a photo of your golden lips!
Suze | LuxuryColumnist
Ah can't wait to see your review! I know, I really wish I'd gotten a photo of it!!
C x
Afternoon tea done well is a cracker – and this one sounds delicious!
Completely agree! It was incredible!
C x
Oh wow, this looks like the perfect afternoon tea!
It was definitely close to it!!
C x
Don't worry about fitting into bikinis, just buy a bigger bikini! That's my new motto anyway as I discovered this morning that previous years of trying to slim for summer means that this year (when I just cannot be arsed) has left me entirely without a summer wardrobe. Sob sob. The afternoon tea looks so delicious, I love the addition of the canapes! So yum xxx
Lucy @ La Lingua Italy
Haha, excellent advice there Lucy! 😉
C x
Wow. This afternoon tea sounds interesting and delicious. The design of the food tray is beautiful. I like the cake with the butterfly. The atmosphere in the tea room is also very cozy and relaxing.
Yes, the cake with the butterfly was so so yummy!!
C x
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